The escalating conflict in the Middle East was the subject of discussion Tuesday between UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Terje Roed-Larsen and top Lebanese officials.

Larsen’s visit to Lebanon attempted to clarify the country’s position on issues related to the Middle East conflict, reported the Daily Star newspaper.

Lebanon was the first leg of a regional tour in which Larsen plans to assess the mood among state leaders.

“I am here at the request of the secretary-general to discuss the difficult situation in the Middle East with regional leaders and to prepare for talks which will be held in the General Assembly in New York,” Larsen said after meeting President Emile Lahoud at Baabda Palace.

The UN General Assembly in New York had planned to hold a session Tuesday, but after unprecedented attacks in the United States targeting official buildings, it was canceled.

Larsen, who was accompanied by the UN secretary-general’s personal representative for south Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, said he reported the UN’s views on the Middle East conflict to Lahoud.

“I informed him of our position on these complex issues, and the president presented the views of the Lebanese government,” Larsen said.

Lahoud told Larsen that the Middle East conflict has reached a point which requires a new approach to the peace process.

In a statement, Lahoud said that this new approach must include “a relaunch of the peace process on the basis of a just and comprehensive peace.”

The president stressed that peace should be “in accordance with the foundations established by the 1991 Madrid Conference and other related United Nations resolutions.

“It is necessary to correct the halt in the regional peace process which has occurred as a result of the hostile Israeli policy,” the statement quoted Lahoud as saying – Albawaba.com